(FT5) At least one new lens coming from Panasonic by end of August (no word about the GF7 yet)

Small update about the upcoming Panasonic product announcement which will take place between August 26 and September 1 (right before the IFA in Berlin). I am now sure that there will be at least one new Micro Four Thirds lens. But I am still not certain if Panasonic will announce the new GF7 too! The lens will be probably a zoom lens but I am not sure yet if it will be the long awaited fast 12-50mm f/2.5-3.3 lens or something else.

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sounds a bit like the long awaited 12-120 f/2 pancake … as in, you’re gonna be “awaiting” a long time !

Brod1er

I thought it was 300mm f1.2?!?!? THAT IS SO DISAPPOINTING!! Panasonic just dont care and have let us down yet again. MFT is dead. I am going to switch to NEX………:-)

admin

No sorry, it ends with f/3.3!

Faidz

Still good enough for me!

Nick Clark

Admin – when you first mentioned the ‘fast’ Panasonic 12-50mm, you indicated it would possibly be a f2.5-3.3. Now whenever you mention it you just say 12-50/f2.5…

Has your information changed and can we really expect a constant f2.5? Or are you just being lazy and not writing the f3.3 bit?

Either way I can’t wait, I just hope they don’t go overboard making it a video lens…

Martin

> Or are you just being lazy and not writing the f3.3 bit?

Yes.

admin

No lazy. I am travelling again and it’s hard to be focused on 43rumors today. I am right now sitting in the train to Munich!

Martin

Fair enough ;-)

Brod1er

“Probably a zoom”, “not sure”- All seems a bit vague given we are so close. I would be surprised if they released a fast zoom lens without a new camera body. What happened to the “big announcement”?

admin

The BIG surprise you mean? I am using that info to get more…info!

dtakias

Maybe the new fast zoom lens will be announced as a kit lens with the GF Pro? That would be an awesome kit.

If it actually gets released, it would be an excellent companion to my nokton 25/0.95 as a general purpose fast zoom af lens.

Jeff

That’s what’s worrying me. I’m thinking the new lens is unlikely to be a fast zoom unless the previous rumor (about the product codes, i.e. GF7k is 14-42mm and GF7x is 25 f1.4) is wrong.

If the GF7 were the pro GF, it’d definitely have been bundled with a fast zoom if the fast zoom were coming out anytime this year. And if the new lens were a fast zoom, it’d definitely be bundled with the GF7 (expensive kits for pro-er bodies, like the 14-140mm with the GH2 and the 14-54mm with the E-30).

If I take everything at face value (that this fast zoom is still a rumor, and that a new lens is coming out, and that the kit rumors are actually FT5), I’d probably think this is another long-range lens or maybe a zoom from ~12-80+ or something, but cheaper than the 14-140mm.

No room for another slow zoom in the lineup, so it must be fast. Excellent.

Martin

Bet on a shiny new collapsible 14-45 f/4-5.6 :D

mpgxsvcd

No it will be a shiny new collapsible 14-42mm. The 14-45mm is just too expensive for their tastes.

Bob B.

hmmm…based on the new P/L 25mm…this rumored zoom AND also seeing what Olympus’ new offerings are….(the new 12mm f/2 is sweet) I can just sense that Panasonic has to lay a sweet new camera body on us.
Everyone on this site has been longing for a continuation of the GF1 linage for years now…. Sony’s about to be announced Nex is also fueling a competent competitor from Panasonic. I don’t want to get too excited…but the GF7 has to be something exciting or it will not compete.

bilgy_no1

“Everyone on this site has been longing for a continuation of the GF1 linage for years now….”

What do you mean ‘for years’? The GF1 was released just under two years ago. Murmur about ‘dumbing down’ started with the release of the GF2, announced in November 2010, which is only 9 months ago…

I know m4/3 is developing so quickly it looks like it’s been there for many years, but let’s keep track of time a little bit…

Bob B.

True…I based my comment on the amount of time I have had my GF1. My years referred to 2yrs. but…hey…it is still valid. :-)
The dumbing down has been soooooo disappointing that it feels like a decade!!!!!! LOL!

This is why it won’t be announced just yet. Sony is mocking NEX users with every decent prime being the size of a full frame equivalent, but Panasonic must not count on others’ incompetence. Olympus will probably release its own version by March 2012, so end of 2011 makes a reasonable timing for Panasonic.

The question is which brand will be the market leader in this new segment?
(small, lightweight, ILC) Customers range from p&s upgrade to photojournalism. Current DSLR segment covers p&s upgrade to FF professional and the camera price span is almost 20 times.
Leica are for sure aware of this planning for their competitor in the new segment. Their high end camera can cost about 10 – 15 times the current low end m4/3 cameras. And they would have plenty of customers. 3 – 4 AF Leica lenses and an M mount adapter will sell…..
Neither of competitors have that brand that alows theese prices, but say that a high end PanOly can cost 5 – 8 times the current low end.
If this will be a NEX 7 or a GF7 or an E-P10000000 I don’t know, but it can be a really great camera!
For m4/3 the pre-requisite is a new sensor generation with more and better pixels. There has to be a giant step in DR among other things. The new Panasonic sensor in G3 is far better than the 12Mpix stiil used for low end Panasonic and, in practice, all Olympus. – But this is still not good enough for an high end m4/3 camera
APS-C sensors has been aeound for much longer and are still developing more than the newer m4/3 sensors, that is a bad sign.

Frankly, m4/3 can’t compete with mirrorless APS-C on sensors alone. It will always lag behind by about a stop at best. However, a system is more than the sensors it uses. As useable ISO gets higher, the PRACTICAL significance of sensor size lessens. Eventually m4/3 will be more practical than larger-sensor competition due to its size advantage (IMO it’s more practical already).

Martin

> Eventually m4/3 will be more practical than larger-sensor competition due to its size advantage (IMO it’s more practical already).

The size advantage could be counteracted by the APS-C competition designing slower lenses, though. Where m43 uses an f/2.8, APS-C can simply do with f/3.5, and so on.
Comparable packages may be of a comparable size, that’s a simple law of physics. It’s really stupid of Sony that they do not take that advantage. Samsung is probably more clever in this respect.

voldenuit

Yes, but that APS-C lens will have a focal length that’s 1.5x larger than the m43 lens to have the same equivalent FOV, so (especially for telephotos) will be inherently larger no matter if it has the same exit pupil (not to mention it has to cover a larger image circle, which will require larger elements).

Case in point, the Zuiko.D 14-35/2 was very slightly smaller than competing APS-C/FF 24-70/2.8 lenses, but the 4/3 35-100/2 was much more portable than Canikon’s 70-200/2.8 lenses. m43 lenses can be even smaller than 4/3 lenses.

Martin

OK, normal to telephoto lenses can be designed shorter for m4/3. That’s true.
But, as for your other remarks…

> Case in point, the Zuiko.D 14-35/2 was very slightly smaller than competing APS-C/FF 24-70/2.8 lenses, but the 4/3 35-100/2 was much more portable than Canikon’s 70-200/2.8 lenses.

Anyhow. 14-35/2 vs. 24-70/2.8 and 35-100/2 vs. 70-200/2.8 DO NOT form comparable couples. A comparable couple would be a FT camera + 35-100/2 and a FF camera + 70-200/4. Same reach, same DOF. Comparable photos for equivalent focal lenghts, same DOF, same shutter speed.
If you see that, you realize that the SHG Zuiko lenses are in fact significantly BIGGER than their FF counterparts. (And yes, I know that they are probably better built and sealed.)

twoomy

sneye — I don’t know, actually the m4/3 sensor CAN compete! And that’s coming from somebody who is a diehard Nikon shooter. I crossed over from the D300 to the GH2 because the image quality is slightly better (resolution and even high-ISO noise) AND the much more pleasant size of the camera and the lenses. Getting all of this good glass now (high-quality primes, etc.) is icing on the cake; it’s making m4/3 into a really terrific system.

Granted the D300 sensor is about three years old now, but if m4/3 can do what DX could do, a few years ago, we’re getting into the territory of insignificance.

The size difference between m4/3 and DX sensors isn’t that great. Not when you look at the difference between P&S sensors and m4/3 and the difference between DX and FX. Pany and Samsung are bit behind in sensor technology compared to Sony and Nikon, but I don’t believe the difference in size is the biggest issue here.

Narretz

But Pana and Oly first need to finance their real Pro cameras. And I just can’t see them risking such a camera now, where the competition is extremely strong. They rather strengthen their position in the P&S upgrade market and slowly try to get to higher standards.

For the lens, the timing of GF7 and 12-50 2.5-3.3 would surely be sweet. But I don’t think we will get our hands on either before next spring.

WT21

Wrong strategy. You need halo products to pull up interest.

jak0b

Wasn’t there a rumour not so long ago that Panasonic would make a zoom lens with build in zoom-motor for the AG-AF100 and beginner cameras in order to persuade the camcorder and point-and-shoot people to join m43?

the death of the nex

i finally got to see the gf3 today, and although it is not a camera for me, it is actually very small even with the kit zoom. if panny releases a top notch pro version of the gf1 and it sits on the shelves next to the gh2, g3 and gf3, m43 will be a very appealing format to buy into for most people looking to go mirrorless.
the death of the nex… maybe :)

mpgxsvcd

NEX will never die just like IPhone will never die. Too many people walk into the store and buy Sony/Apple just because that is the name they know.

Yes but it will be a zoom fisheye – probably covering 14mm and starting at f5.6…..
Seriously, there are only two full FEs – one cheap and MF, one expensive and AF. What’s not to like with a little choice? The obvious lens gaps are filling and we are only 2 years since the dawn of MFT.

Roca

I wish a 18mm F1.4 will come out.

Elf

Admin said…… “BIG Surprise”. I thought about that and looking at the strength of Micro 4/3. Small size and the ability to adapt every legacy lens imaginable. And the advent of all these great primes being released. What is the one thing Panny lacks…….. IBIS. What if Panny uses one of their better sensors and IBIS. What could be more surprising than that??? In a small L1 form factor.

Wishful thinking perhaps.

Mr. Reeee

Panasonic opted for OIS in specific lenses. I have my own IBIS…
In- Brain- Image-Stabilization. I find things to lean against or rest my camera on. It works great and is easy on the battery drain. ;-)

M4/3 has several advantages over APS-C. Not least lens size as showed with Olympus 12mm. The sensor will always be smaller, but can be developed to “good enough”. Every camera is a compromize as the purchase of it. I believe m4/3 can come out on top! One thing: Panasonic and Olympus should cooperate in developing certain areas of the system. They have a common interest in making m4/3 a success – leading to very profitable lens sales.

Olympius

So many goodies to look forward too….

– New GF7 “Pro” from Panasonic…

– New fast zoom from Panasonic…

– A possible entry into micro 4/3 by Fuji…

– And Olympus possibly getting a prosumer 4/3 DSLR back on the market…

Lot’s of good things happening in the land of 4/3.

As for the Sony NEX7, it might be the greatest camera body ever made by the hands of humans, but looking at the big torpedo that is the Zeiss 24mm…forget about it. You might as well just get get a DSLR if you are going to have to deal with huge lenses like those.

It’s only been a mere two years since the first micro 4/3 cameras were launched, and within mere months there will already be a a full system of lenses for it, except for the glaring lack of fast prime telephotos…but this is not the kind of system that you would want to use with a f.2 400mm anyway…

Olympius

Jedd

Wasn’t there a rumor some time ago about new 7-14mm OIS Lens coming from Panasonic this autumn?

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Here is the definition of the word “rumor” according to Merriam Webster dictionary:

Pronunciation: \ˈrü-mər\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English rumour, from Anglo-French, from Latin rumor clamor, gossip; akin to Old English rēon to lament, Sanskrit rauti he roars

Date: 14th century
1: talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source
2: a statement or report current without known authority for its truth
3 archaic : talk or report of a notable person or event

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